Forrest Gump, the original protagonist of Robert Zemeckis’ film, was everything the American dream at that time was not. Forrest, a man with below-average IQ, an eternal optimist and fearless with his emotions, captured America’s imagination by just being patently sincere, without guile and unbelievably nice—not an innovator, a thinker or a visionary that the country at that time rewarded and worshipped. Forrest Gump (1994) was a massive blockbuster that year, which released in theatres worldwide. Indians watched it on the big screen too.
Twenty-eight years later, in another country and another climate, does the same simpleton-savant make the cut as a hero? Largely yes, as Advait Chandan’s Laal Singh Chaddha, produced and headlined by Aamir Khan, and contextualised to suit Indian society and sentiments proves.
The film begins soon after the Emergency. Laal (Ahmad Ibn Umar) grows up with taunts because he has a physical disability and his teacher declares that he is at the bottom of his class because of his below-average IQ. His feisty mother played by Mona Singh envelops him with love and refuses to give up.
Laal also has a friend and soulmate in Rupa D’Souza, a classmate from a traumatised family who becomes an orphan after her father kills her mother. Rupa moves in with Laal and his mother. As adults, after finishing college in Delhi, they choose different paths. Laal (Aamir Khan) joins the Army and Rupa (Kareena Kapoor) leaves for Mumbai to pursue modelling and acting.
Laal becomes an interloper of contemporary Indian history, cruising through events that shaped and shook the country, from Indira Gandhi’s assassination and the Mandal Commission student protests, to the Babri Masjid riots and the Kargil War—witnessing each event through his singular lens, including an award-winning feat at the Kargil War saving the lives of soldiers—of whom one is from the enemy’s side.
Inspired by his plotting with his friend while serving the Army, Laal manages to start and run a men’s undergarments business named after the love of his life, Rupa—a product placement strategy seamlessly interwoven into the story, because Rupa underwear, as we know, is an actual Indian company of men’s undergarments.
Laal has a contribution to everyone he meets and every place he visits. If in the original Forrest taught a thing or two to Elvis Presley, a very young Shah Rukh Rukh learns something from a younger Laal. Far away from him, Rupa becomes the girlfriend of a brutal gangster in Mumbai. Their love story continues nonetheless, ending in a tragic reunion, which is also a new life and hope for Laal.
Laal’s heroism is so inadvertent, that it makes achievements of the intellect seem redundant. In that sense, like the original screenplay by Eric Roth and adapted for this version by Atul Kulkarni, Laal Singh Chaddha is an out-and-out comic fantasy tapping into impossible dreams—certainly not a film for the acutely, irredeemably cynical. It has a light touch even in the most gruelling moments that Laal and Rupa go through—a gamut of them, touched upon but never dwelt on long enough to trouble its audience.
Also read: Atul Kulkarni: "'Laal Singh Chaddha' was written for Aamir Khan, the actor and producer"
Khan adopts a drastic physical language and stays consistently immersed in it. His childlike speech and gestures require time to get used to, but by the end, he makes Laal a character enduring enough to feel invested in. Kapoor is her usual effortless self as an actress—and her channeling of Rupa as a woman in a loop of trauma and abuse but with enough reserve in her to see her own circumstances in the eye and not run away from difficult emotions, is competent. Singh as a fiercely protective mother has a unidimensional arc to play with, but her performance has some memorable moments.
Laal Singh Chaddha has an assured Aamir Khan stamp on it—massy, melodramatic, yet refreshing in the way it tries to engage with Indian realities. Chandan maintains a consistent graph in the story. Mounted on a big scale with multiple locations across India—because when Laal finally runs, he runs through the length and breadth of India—the story doesn’t stray from its emotional core. Emotions run high, without any nuance. For Laal, as for the movie in its entirety, it’s either tragic or comic, black or white. Laal is a fantasy hero unlike any we have known in our movies—a mascot for basic kindness, honesty, and uncompromised love.
Laal Singh Chaddha releases in theatres on Thursday, August 11.
Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
